Shoo, Mann

Last night Valarie and I attended an Oregon Symphony performance with British conductor Paul Mann as part of the “Front Row Center” series, which combines music with lecture, dramatic readings, etc. to tell stories about the making of classical music. The music of the evening was by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, two of my favorite composers. And the story of their both loving the same woman, Cara Schumann (Robert’s wife), was pretty interesting. But ultimately the performance was kind of ruined for us by so much talking. In between pieces performed there would always be a good 5-10 minutes of discussion by the conductor, Mann, and he even stopped the orchestra in the middle of a couple pieces to make another point about what we were hearing. Mann was especially giddy about a couple hidden allusions to Clara in their music. It was kind of like having Beatles songs interrupted by someone who wants to talk about the Paul-is-dead publicity stunt. It really made me realize that I go to the symphony to lose myself in the music. I find that more than any other live music, it’s classical that, to varying degrees (depending on how much I like the composer or the individual piece), really pulls me in to a degree that I filter out virtually all else—except when someone’s cell phone is ringing, of course (as happened twice). Too bad it didn't happen last night, because these composers kick some serious 19th Century classical ass.

Comments

[Paul Mann]

"Shoo-Mann" - I'll remember that one. There's nothing I like better than constructive criticism.

But seriously sir, you miss the point. Far from being just "a couple of hidden allusions", the Clara motif is fundamental to an understanding of a great deal of Schumann and Brahms' music, and the Beatles comparison really is a cheap shot.

A great deal of thought and work went into that show, and I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. There's nothing at all wrong with just wanting to "lose yourself in the music", but I wouldn't have thought a lecture concert was the best place to do that.

Never mind - thanks for your comments.

Regards
Paul Mann

[Brian]

Mr. Mann-

I'm surprised and honored that you posted onto my weblog and sorry you had to read some unfavorable comments. I wanted to let you know that I may have overall given the wrong impression of the concert. In total I absolutely liked the show, and I thought your storytelling was very good, especially coupled with the task of conducting a symphony and playing piano. I also felt you did a great job of getting a nice performance from the orchestra. I just felt like the discussion dragged a little toward the end, and I also during the concert came to the realization that I normally find symphony concerts very transporting and meditative in a way this format was not suited for.

Despite my reservations, though, please know that I walked away from the concert a fan of yours and happy to know more about the Schumanns and Brahms.

[dj]

Hello, backtracking!

[Valarie]

I find Paul Mann's description of the event as a 'lecture concert' to be an interesting one. I attended the show with Brian, and although we'd never attended the Front Row Center series before, we believed that it was very similar to the Nerveendings (sp?) series that the Symphony ran a few years back. While the Nerveendings shows provided context to the music, I wouldn't characterize them as lectures. Perhaps it is this discrepancy in our expectations that was part of the problem.

Also, both of us appreciate symphonies much more than vocal works (which, if I recall correctly, outnumbered the symphonies on the program). So to only be able to hear small portions of what we preferred, while the portions we didn't prefer went uninterrupted, was also part of the problem on our side.

I think it's important to note that on the very next day, Brian went out and bought 2 Schumann CDs and 1 Brahms CD. So while we may have had differing expectations for the evening, Paul Mann's ultimate goal was certainly achieved. We left the Symphony with a greater appreciation of, and curiosity for, the works of Brahms and both Schumanns.

[dj]

I see from the title of your post that the original line was "shoe, man." Weak!

[Brian]

Kiss my ass, David! :)